JOIN USStopped seeking validation as an actor long ago, says Richa Chadha
Actor Richa Chadha says her aim is to never succumb to either the burden of expectations or fall into the trap of seeking "validation" as an artiste.
Chadha broke out in the industry a decade ago with Anurag Kashyap's two-part crime drama Gangs of Wasseypur and went on to earn acclaim for her diverse performances, be it as the understated Devi Pathak in social drama Masaan or the flamboyant ganglord Bholi Punjaban in the buddy comedy franchise Fukrey.
She is set to open 2022 with her latest web series The Great Indian Murder, which features her as a cop named Sudha Bharadwaj investigating a high-profile murder.
In an interview with PTI, Chadha said she is keen to see how the audience receives the show but no longer feels the need to be attached to the end result of her projects.
"I am excited about the show, but I no longer have butterflies in my belly, massive expectations or massive disappointments. I am fairly stable through the thick and thin of this. I guess this is the pandemic situation, which has made everyone get some kind of a reality check. I am not even seeking validation as an actor, that is something I stopped long back," she said.
The 35-year-old actor said she operates from a space of complete awareness -- she knows when she has excelled or when her performance has missed the mark.
This, Chadha pointed out, helps her in never taking any "pressure" to deliver to the expectations and remain focused on her goal: to constantly better herself.
"I am happy when someone likes my work and tells me, but I am not really looking for specific reviews or four star ratings. Sometimes I feel I myself am so critical, so then I don't bother (what others are saying). If I feel like I have not performed well, I won't even watch it.
"But I don't think that I need to take pressure. The more time I spend here in the business, the more I feel like I don't owe anyone anything. I just want to humanise the parts that I play... Right now, I just want to tell amazing stories which push the envelope. I want to find a new voice," she added.
The Great Indian Murder is an adaptation of Vikas Swarup's acclaimed novel Six Suspects, which revolves around the murder of the son of a minister.
Chadha said she had read the bestseller when it was released more than a decade ago. But when the adaptation came her way, she was encouraged to grab it purely because it was helmed by Tigmanshu Dhulia, who was her co-star in Gangs of Wasseypur.
Her character is a new addition to the show -- along with that of Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta star Pratik Gandhi's Suraj Yadav, a Central Bureau of Investigation officer.
The series is co-written by Dhulia, Vijay Maurya and Puneet Sharma.
"Our characters don't exist in the book, so I was concerned how much of her will be there. But putting all these concerns aside, I had told the producers that my interest was in working with Tigmanshu Dhulia. I was quite confident about the script, the cast and, of course, the director," she said.
"Tigmanshu was truly amazing, he is one of the best directors you could hope to work with. He is sharp about the craft and the medium and it helps because he himself is trained as an actor," she further said about the National School of Drama postgraduate.
According to Chadha, the Disney+ Hotstar series will see her playing a "restrained" part, much like what she had pulled off in Neeraj Ghaywan's acclaimed Masaan.
"In this sea of testosterone heavy men who are delivering punchline after punchline, violently attacking each other, hurting each other, this straight-up character who is simply doing her job will not seem very exciting -- at first. But she is the one who is going to eventually perhaps crack the case and nab the murderer," she added.
The Great Indian Murder also stars Raghubir Yadav, Ashutosh Rana, Sharib Hashmi, Amey Wagh, Jatin Goswami, Shashank Arora and Paoli Dam.
The show is produced by Ajay Devgn and Priti Vinay Sinha. It is set to be released on February 4.